SEEDS OF PEACE: A Buddhist Vision for Renewing Society

This small book is a collection of speeches and essays spanning the past 25 years. In the 70's Sulak Sivaraksa became the central figure in founding a number of NGO's (non-governmental agencies) in Siam [he prefers this name rather than the hybrid Anglicized "Thailand" which was changed by a corrupt dictator in 1939] helping develop indigenous, sustainable and moral models for modernization. He is also the cofounder of INEB (International Network of Engaged Buddhists; "Buddhist Peace Fellowship" in Berkeley, CA is the US affiliate). He is among a handful of leaders worldwide working to revive the socially engaged aspects of Buddhism. He is also a lawyer, teacher, scholar, publisher, activist and author of more than 60 books and monographs. During the last three decades he has become a constant irritant for the Thai government. Like Thich Nhat Hanh and the Dalai Lama, he is an exile from his homeland.

This small book (130 pages) shows explicitly how important our political awareness is to "mindfulness practice," the foundation for students and followers of the way of Buddhism. We cannot simply do meditation practice while ignoring the social system that surrounds us. In an excellent chapter, "The Religion of Consumerism," he does not mince words. "We are told that our desires will be satisfied by buying things, but, of course, consuming one thing just arouses us to want more.... Consumerism supports those who have the economic and political power by rewarding their hatred, aggression and anger.... We don't look at the tremendous cost to ourselves, to our environment, and to our souls."

He's also quite critical of the global corporate economy, or what he calls "Think-Big Strategy" (TBS). "[TBS] has encouraged Southeast Asian countries to seek massive funding for industrial enterprises that only benefit multinational corporations, leaving us at the mercy of international financial institutions... It has led us unquestionably to trust overseas experts as those best equipped to advise us- indigenous solutions are usually overlooked or scorned [editor's emphasis]." It would be wise to read this in connection with the current investment collapse in South Korea. With all the varying perspectives that one may read or listen to in the international media these days, not one analysis will go deep enough to question the validity of the "economic model" of development itself... Òindigenous solutions are usually overlooked or scorned" is a major understatement.

Contact with Western technology and colonialism triggered a massive upheaval in traditional community and village values in Siam. Sulak writes: "For the first time, people were encouraged to grow food not for their own consumption, but for shipment to national and world markets.... To extol the comforts of living with kitchen appliances and electric shavers in a country that still experiences hunger and malnutrition is immoral." Sulak also criticizes modern agricultural practices that are depleting natural resources for the benefit of a few privileged elites in Southeast Asia. He writes: "Can lifestyles that are unsustainable be moral? Asking this question forces us to look very seriously for alternatives, for the sake of our planet and for the sake of our souls."

When writing about the Buddhism's second precept (abstain from stealing), he states that we must also take responsibility for the theft implicit in our economic system. "To live a life of Right Livelihood and voluntary simplicity out of compassion for all beings and to renounce fame, profit and power as life goals are to set oneself against the structural violence of the oppressive status quo. But is it enough to live a life of voluntary simplicity without also working to overturn the structures that force so many people to live in involuntary poverty?"

Sulak adheres to EF Schumacher's principle of "small is beautiful" and frequently refers to his chapter, "Buddhist economics as if people mattered." Regarding advanced technology, he writes that it "belongs to a development path that pays no attention to the needs of the people... they create human unemployment. This is contrary to human and Buddhist values."